LOS ANGELES - It wasn't the most beautiful thing Los Angeles has to offer, but Oregon will take it.

Faced with the possibility of entering Civil War week on a two-game skid, the Ducks took advantage of USC's cold shooting to win 61-51 at a half-full Galen Center on Saturday night.

"Two (wins) would have felt real good, but one and one, we'll take it,'' forward Tyrone Nared said. "Now we'll get ready for the next three at home.''

The win gives the Ducks (13-12, 6-7 Pacific-10 Conference) a season sweep and four straight wins over USC. It also moves them into a three-way tie for fifth place in the Pac-10.

And it was the Ducks' sixth win in their last seven games in which the opponent was somebody other than UCLA.

Given the loss at UCLA on Thursday night and the long week coming up before Saturday's home game against Oregon State, the victory comes at a critical point in the season. Oregon coach Dana Altman credited his seniors, Joevan Catron and Jay-R Strowbridge for the outside-the-box score contributions.

"We really needed a bounce-back game, and I really think Joevan and Jay-R got the team ready to play,'' Altman said. "I'm really pleased with the leadership.''

Catron had his hands full down low with Nikola Vucevic, the Trojans' highly skilled big man. Vucevic, the Pac-10's third-leading scorer (18.4 points), had two quick baskets to start the game, but after E.J. Singler hit a wide-open three-pointer to put the Ducks up 7-4, they did not trail the rest of the way.

With Vucevic and Alex Stepheson - first and third, respectively, in the Pac-10 in rebounding - Oregon's strategy was to get a body on them and leave the rebounding to smaller people. It worked, as the Ducks finished with a 34-32 rebounding edge.

Even when USC crashed the offensive boards (11), the Ducks made the Trojans work for putbacks. USC finished with just four second-chance points.

"We had everybody coming back to rebound,'' Catron said. "It was pretty much block (Vucevic) and Stepheson out and let our guards come back and get the ball.''

There were rebounds to be had, that's for sure. The Trojans dug themselves a hole by shooting 26 percent in the first half. Oregon, not exactly lighting it up, either (33 percent in the half), did not let them out of that hole as USC generated just 19 points in the first half.

"We're not going to win many games shooting the ball like we did,'' USC coach Kevin O'Neill said. "We're all disappointed, we can't be discouraged.''

Most of the energy in this building, with 4,421 fans making little noise, came from Oregon. The Ducks pushed the tempo and substituted often to take advantage of USC's slim, seven-man rotation. Early in the first half, the Ducks substituted en masse, bringing five new players in.

"When you look up at the first four minutes of the game and they bring in five new guys,'' O'Neill said, "You just look at them and say, 'Here we go.' ''

If Vucevic wasn't doing the shooting, USC (13-12, 5-7) had problems. Entering the game, he and Stepheson were shooting a combined 53 percent from the floor in league play; their teammates, 38 percent.

Shooting from long range, the Trojans had no chance. They missed 13 of their first 14 three-pointers and finished the game shooting 37 percent from the floor and 16 percent from three-point range - a season low for an Oregon opponent.

Coming out of halftime, Loyd gave the Ducks a boost. He had not scored more than four points in any game since the teams' first meeting - seven games ago. He scored five points in the first minute to put Oregon up 32-19.

An 11-2 run by USC kept the Ducks within range, but they steadily pulled away as the Trojans missed jumpers and Malcolm Armstead (14 points, five assists) sliced through the defense on the other end, scoring his team's final nine points.

The Ducks now have a week before their next game, a Civil War matchup at Matthew Knight Arena with Oregon State at 1 p.m. Saturday. After that, California and Stanford come to Eugene.

"That's going to be huge for us,'' Catron said. "Our crowd will be there, ready, we can get on a run and see where we go.''

Notes: It was the first time this season that Armstead led the Ducks in scoring. ... USC's 15.8 percent three-point shooting was a season low for an Oregon opponent.